FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

LOGISTICS

Q: How are sessions selected for the Annual Conference? A: The Annual Conference Committee Council of Readers reviews over 900 submissions each year. The Committee considers subject areas and themes that arise from proposals to present as a broad and diverse a program as possible.The Committee accepts approximately 250 sessions for each conference and must, at times, make difficult decisions on submissions of high merit. This means that on occasion, quality submissions may not be selected.

Q: How long is a session? A: All CAA sessions are 90 minutes in length. Please plan presentations accordingly.

Q: How many people should be on a panel? A: We encourage innovative session formats. If you choose an alternate format, please plan accordingly, as all sessions are 90 minutes. For a traditional 90-minute session, we suggest one chair, four presenters, and one discussant. This format allows introductions, fifteen-minute presentations, and Q&A.

SUBMISSIONS

Q: What do I need to submit a session? A: To submit a session, you will need: your CAA Member ID and password; the title and abstract for your session (250 words max.); a list of subject areas or fields of study that best represent your proposal; possible scheduling conflicts; CVs for chairs (shortened CVs preferred).
For Complete sessions, you must have all names and affiliations of session participants (chairs, presenters, discussants), presentation titles, and abstracts (250 words max.) To add presenters to your session, they must have a CAA member ID. All participants can be looked up either by name or email.

Q: How should I designate which fields of study best represent my proposal? A: You may select your preferred fields of study on your submission form. The full list of fields that are considered for proposals is available here. If you do not see a field in our list that best represents your area of study, you have the option to add a new topic on your submission form.

Q: If my proposal is accepted, do I have to submit a finished paper?
A: We do not ask participants to submit complete papers, only a proofread abstract. You may be asked by your chair to provide your paper, or you may wish to share it among your co-presenters.

Q: Can I plan something other than a traditional panel? A: YES! Feedback from our attendees reveals that they want to take in information and learn in alternative formats. This could involve audience engagement, lightning talks, photo essays, artist talks, conversation-based discussions, and more. We strongly encourage you to think about presenting your content in a manner other than the traditional panel format for a 90-minute session.

Q: If my Individual Presentation proposal is accepted, how is my session arranged? A: Accepted Individual Presentations are organized by CAA into sessions withothers accepted in this category based on subject area or compatible content. Since there is no designated chair for these sessions, a mentor is assigned to the group to provide guidance as needed. Sometimes participants identify one in the group to act as chair; sometimes a CAA member outside the group is asked to lead; some groups choose to go without this formal role.

Q: How many ways can I participate in conference sessions? A: To allow a greater number of participants in the conference, CAA membersmay participate in each of following session roles only once during a conference: chair, presenter, discussant. They can serve in all three roles but cannot perform any of these roles more than once. CAA members may participate in sessions in consecutive years. Individuals may also participate in lightning rounds and poster sessions; however, consideration will be made for those who are not participating in a general session.

REGISTRATION

Q: Can I attend the session for free if I am presenting on that session? A: While you cannot attend a session for free, even for the one you are presenting in, we do offer a number of conference registration options, including full registration, day passes, and single-session time slot tickets. All session participants must register for the conference in one of these ways.

Q: Are there sessions that are free and open to the public? A: The midday time slot is free and open to the public. This time slot is reserved for business meetings and key conversations. There are other events throughout the conference that are also free. Check the schedule when it is posted in October for details. Please remember to check back often for schedule updatesas the conference approaches.

MEMBERSHIP

Q: Do I have to be a CAA member to submit a proposal? A: All conference participants (chairs, presenters, discussants) must be CAA members to participate in the Annual Conference. A CAA member ID number will be requested for all conference participants in the online submission form. However, if you do not have all CAA ID numbers available for participants, you may enter them when you obtain them. If you are not a member of CAA at the time you submit the proposal, you can still submit—email CAA Membership Services at membership@collegeart.org or call them directly at 212-691-1051, ext. 1, and they can create a non-member CAA ID so that you can move forward with your submission. You may work on the submission in stages until the proposal deadline. Please note the new member may not sync to the submission portal until the next business day.

Q: Is CAA membership required to participate on a CAA session? A: Yes, all session participants (chairs, presenters, discussants) must be individual members of CAA in order to participate in vetted conference sessions. Institutional member IDs may not be used to propose or participate in sessions.

Q: Is CAA membership required to participate on an Affiliated Society or CAA Professional Committee guaranteed session? A: Yes, all session participants (chairs, presenters, discussants) must be members of CAA in order to participate in guaranteed Affiliated Society and Professional Committee sessions.

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

Q: When does the 2020 Call for Participation (CFP) open and close?
A: The 2020 CFP will be open from June 25 to July 23, 2019. The list of accepted Soliciting Contributors sessions will be posted on the CAA website.

Q: How do I submit a proposal to the CFP?
A: Individuals may submit their work directly to chairs, whose contact information will be listed on the CFP webpage.

Q: I submitted a proposal to the CFP but have not heard from the chair if my work was accepted. What should I do?
A: As chairs are responsible for organizing their own sessions, we are unfortunately unable to provide any details on the status of your submission. The deadline for chairs to finalize their session details is August 27, 2019. If this date has passed and you would like further clarification or confirmation of receipt from the chair, we encourage you to follow up with them directly.

Q: I’m organizing a session Soliciting Contributors and have not received very many submissions. What should I do?
A: We open the Call for Participation from June 25 to July 23, 2019 on our website and send out announcements on CAA News. We encourage chairs to distribute the information to their own networks.

Q: I’m a session chair and have received many submissions for the CFP. Would it be possible to organize a second session? A: While we are pleased that you received such a positive response to your session, due to our large number of sessions and space limitations, we must limit chairs to one session each. We encourage you to collaborate with those who you do not select for this year’s conference on a future CAA session.

STILL HAVE A QUESTION?

For more information about session proposals for the 2020 Annual Conference, please contact Mira Friedlaender, CAA Manager of the Annual Conference, at 212-392-4405, or Tiffany Dugan, CAA Director of Programs and Publications, at 212-392-4410.